A jack plug or phono plug is a common audio connector. It is cylindrical in shape, with two or more contacts. Power supply plugs which generally communicate DC or low voltage AC from a small transformer to a device are also cylindrical in shape. Engageable audio style plugs were originally invented for use in telephone switchboards prior to electronic switching and are still widely used for audio and video transmission in the original ¼ inch size and in miniaturized versions adapted for engagement to smaller electronic components. A favorite use for such plugs is in the entertainment and music industry where guitars and amplifiers are connected with coaxial cable and various sound equipment is interconnected with patch cables having such plugs on both ends.
Power supply plugs with their barrel style engagement are made in numerous sizes depending on the voltage being delivered and the manufacturer. They generally have a hollow barrel for contacting a pin and a cylindrical exterior for providing a ground. Conventionally, these types of plugs are commonly employed to provide low voltage power to radios and clocks and computer equipment and such using the coaxial engagement of the power carrying circuit to avoid sparks and short circuits during connection.
Almost all electric guitars use a ¼ plug engageable in a mono jack (socket) as their output connector. Instrument amplifiers for guitars, basses and similar amplified musical instruments overwhelmingly employ such plugs as the standard mode of interconnection between the instrument and the electronic amplifier or other sound component receiving the output from the guitar. Loudspeaker outputs from amplifiers and foot switches and effects pedals also commonly use the ¼ plug engaged to the distal ends of coaxial cable for their interconnection. Other instruments such as keyboards and electronic drums employ the same configuration.
The interconnection of musical instruments, amplifiers, speakers, effects components, pedals and the like, by nature requires different length coaxial patch cables. Further, the angle of engagement of the cable to the plug is frequently required to be provided inline or at a ninety-degree angle to accommodate space and other considerations when interconnecting the equipment.
Factory produced audio cables and power cables, with plugs pre-installed at their distal ends, are not easily customized for angular engagement, nor length, since the plugs are conventionally soldered onto the distal ends of the audio or power cable. Consequently, users are frequently left with patch cables having the plugs engaged at an incorrect angle for the proposed connection and cables that are either too long or too short. Further, in the environment in which such patch cables are employed, dirt and corrosion can affect the sockets which engage the plugs and cause a loss of, or a distorted signal when engaged with the plug.
The disclosed device functions to allow an easily customizable solderless connection of a phono plug to the distal end of a coaxial cable or a power plug to the distal end of such a coaxial cable. While depicted as a ¼ inch phone plug, or in FIG. 6 as a ¼ inch coaxial power supply plug, the device can of course be used in ⅛ inch and other diameters just as easily.
The device has a novel means of engagement to the distal end of a coaxial cable that allows for both an inline engagement, or, a ninety-degree angle engagement of a single style of plug, on the distal end of the cable. In both types of engagement, the ground is communicated to the plug from the cable through a default insulation cutting by a set screw or collar during engagement to the distal end of the cable. The center conductor is also easily engaged prior to tightening of the set screw by employing a spear or pin type connection into the center wire of the coaxial cable. Consequently, the user can achieve an excellent electronic communicative connection on the distal end of the cable without the need to strip any insulation from the cable itself.
Using the provided plug-engageable collar having a center passage, an inline engagement to the plug is easily achieved. Just as easily achieved is a ninety-degree angle connection through an aperture in the side surface of the same plug and a seating of the collar into the plug. Optionally, a gnarled or otherwise abrasive surface on the exterior of the distal tip of the audio style plug can also be employed as a continuous means to clean the socket of debris and corrosion during use.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a single phono plug that is engageable to the distal end of coaxial cable without stripping the insulation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a plug, in a single style, that provides both an inline and ninety degree angle engagement.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an abrasive surface on the plug to clean the socket in which it engages.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a single coaxial style power plug which is engageable to the distal end of coaxial cable, in either a straight line or ninety degree angle, without stripping the insulation.
With respect to the above description and background, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components and/or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention herein described and disclosed are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.